Letters to the Editor

Gross Judgments Unclassy

Just because Mr. Gupta sat in on a talk by the Egyptian ambassador to the U.S. does not make him an expert on the state of Egypt’s culture. For example, Mr. Gupta condescendingly states that Egypt has no “leading intellectuals.” This is grossly incorrect, and in fact Egypt has countless intellectuals who contribute to economic, political, philosophical and scientific thought in Egypt and around the globe.

Many Egyptian intellectuals are unknown to the general Western public, but that does not mean they do not exist. But just for Mr. Gupta’s cultural education, here are some famous Egyptian intellectuals he did not think of before writing his article: Naguib Mahfouz (writer and Nobel Prize winner); Taha Hussein (writer); Nawal ElSaadawi (feminist and writer); Ahmed Zewail (scientist and Nobel Prize winner); and Farouk ElBaz (scientist).

Just as one talk does not make Mr. Gupta an expert on a country, two months at MIT since beginning freshman year doesn’t make him an expert on MIT’s culture. As a veteran MIT student I can assure him that MIT is full of culture; just walk down the Infinite Corridor and count the many announcements for social, political and economic events being held at MIT.

Bottom line: Mr Gupta should do his research before making gross judgments that are … well, shall we say, uncultured?